SoulMate – Reel Asian 2016

SoulMate

SoulMate

The friendship between two young women becomes much more complicated as the years go on in . Li Ansheng (Zhou Dongyu) and Lin Qiyue (Ma Sichun) have been best friends with each other since they were 13 years old. Despite Ansheng being a free spirit and Qiyue being more reserved, the two are inseparable from each other. However, their friendship becomes much more complicated as they get older, particularly as they both develop feeling for Su Jia-ming (Toby Lee).

Adapted from the popular Chinese novella July and Ansheng, SoulMate is a drama about the complicated relationship between these two life-long friends. The plot of the film is structured as an extended flashback, with the story being the plot of a popular web serial. SoulMate follows Ansheng and Qiyue’s friendship from their teenage years, right until their late twenties, during which they grow apart and reunite on many different occasions.

SoulMate turned out to be a very heavy-handed melodrama, with there being many scenes in the film that is meant to tug at heartstrings. At the centre of the film is the love triangle between Ansheng, Qiyue, and Jia-ming, which threatens to drive the two lifelong friends apart. While the heavy drama does get a bit too much at times, SoulMate is still a touching film about friendship.

7 / 10 stars
7 5  FAIR  

Screenings

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Sean Patrick Kelly

Sean Patrick Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance film critic and blogger with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. Since founding his site in 2004, Sean has shared his passion for cinema through insightful reviews and commentary. His work has also been featured in prominent outlets, including Toronto Film Scene, HuffPost Canada, Screen Anarchy, ScreenRant, and Rue Morgue Magazine.